The Big Bang Theory: The Gorilla Dissolution (7x23)

Awwww cuteness occurred!

Leonard goes to visit the set of Penny's terrible gorilla movie. When she tries to ask to do a take again, she is fired. Wil Wheaton, in standing up for her, also gets fired. The three of them go out to drink together. Wil's speech about artistic integrity is interrupted by a text telling him he got an audition for Sharknado 2. He leaves. Penny talks about how she needs to start making better choices in her life, starting with this one: she wants to marry Leonard. At first, Leonard is upset, thinking that Penny is only marrying him because it's the practical thing to do. But Penny assures him that she wants to be with him, because he's all she needs to be happy. Leonard pulls a ring out of his wallet and proposes properly. They are finally engaged for real.

When Raj and Sheldon go out to see a movie together, they run into Emily, who is out with another man. Raj and Sheldon talk about Raj's feelings, but of course Sheldon is not much help in situations like this, and he kicks Raj out. Emily comes over, and they talk about their relationship. Emily says that she was basically out with that guy because he kept asking her out and she wanted to get it out of the way. She also mentions that she has some tattoos - one in a very intimate place. Raj and Emily spend the night together.

Howard's mother is injured after a treadmill falls down the stairs and breaks her leg. Howard and Bernadette have a hard time taking care of her. Howard wants to hire a nurse, but Bernadette insists that they can take care of her. It's a lot of hard work, and they discuss how this is what it will feel like to raise a child. Eventually, they take the easy way out by hiring a nurse after all.

Bad stuff?

There was this one moment in Raj and Sheldon's plot that really bothered me. Raj asked Sheldon why women didn't want to be with him, even though he's well educated and wealthy. I seriously wanted to scream through the screen at him: "maybe it's because you're a misogynistic ass most of the time, who thinks he's entitled to women's affections!!!"

Howard and Bernadette's plot thread left a lot to be desired. It wasn't awful or anything... it just wasn't very funny. And some of the fat jokes are really offensive and need to be handled better. I remember a few episodes back we got this really genuine moment from Howard about how he had been a jerk to his mother when she tried to find another man after Howard's dad left. Where's that Howard now? He was such a jerk! And Bernadette really wasn't much better.

But then there's the rest of Raj's plot thread, which actually showed him being respectful towards Emily, as he admitted that it hurt to see her out with another man, but that this is his problem, not hers. He knows they haven't agreed to be exclusive, so he knows he has no right to demand she doesn't see other people. The two of them have an open and honest moment of communication. That's all too rare on this show. I really enjoyed it.

And then there's Penny and Leonard. With all of the almost-proposals, rejected proposals, breakups and misunderstandings that they've been through, they are finally engaged! For real! And it was so cute. There was no premeditated grand gesture. It was just two people talking about what's next for them in their relationship. A real, honest, yet still funny exchange, that ended in adorable-ness. Aww!

I'll stop there. The big stuff in this episode, with Penny and Leonard, was precious, but there were still a few noticeable missteps.

7.5/10